Remarks by Secretary of State Jim Bennett

Alabama Electoral College Ceremony
December 18, 2000

Good afternoon and welcome to this historic occasion. And a special thanks to
Mr. Tom Walker and the American Village who provided us with the Ben Franklin
and James Madison interpreters who greeted you this afternoon.

I would now like to ask you to rise as we begin this ceremony with our
national anthem sung for us today by Dr. Dorothy Riggins from the State
Department of Education. . .Dr. Riggins

I now call upon Rev. Jay Wolf, senior minister of the First Baptist Church in
Montgomery, for our invocation.

The ceremony you witness today is the living, breathing embodiment of our
Constitution and is rooted in almost 200 years of custom and democracy. At this
very hour, in capitols and state houses in all 50 states, electors are gathering
to be the voice of the people and to give finality to this hotly contested
presidential election. They may gather with differing political opinions, but
they will leave united. We are all Americans, and when the election is over, we
unite once again.

In some nations around the world, a close election like the one just
experienced would be settled with tanks and guns and violence in the streets. In
our nation, it was settled with the rule of law and the United States
Constitution. And that is the strength of our nation, that an orderly transfer
of power is prescribed, is possible and is accepted.

At this time, I would like to introduce Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, the co-chair
of the Bush presidential campaign in Alabama, for some brief remarks.

Thank you, Gov. Windom. I will now introduce to you Alabamaâ€™s nine members of
the Electoral College. Beginning on my far left, they are:

Mr. Glen Dunlap of Ozark

Mr. Bob Fincher of Woodland

Mr. Homer Jackson of Birmingham

Mr. Jerry Lathan of Theodore

Mrs. Elaine Little of Pelham

Mrs. Melba Peters of Huntsville

Mrs. Martha Stokes of Carrollton

Mrs. Jean Sullivan of Selma and

Mr. Edgar Welden of Birmingham

Pursuant to state law, I met with the electors in my office at noon. We
determined that the entire delegation is here and accounted for.

Alabama has nine electors, equal to the number of representatives and
senators that the state has in Congress. Presidential candidates submit their
slate of electors to my office in August.

Shortly after the November General Election, the results were certified by
the governor, the attorney general and myself acting as the state canvassing
board. At that time, we certified George W. Bush the winner in Alabama with 57
percent of the vote. The electors were then notified of their election.

Before each elector, there are two ballots. I would ask each elector to cast
their ballot, beginning with the presidential ballot and followed by the vice
presidential ballot. When you are finished, please pass your ballots to the left
so that Ms. Balogh can tally the results. You may begin.

As they cast their ballots, let me explain the procedures that we will follow
today. Each elector will vote first for president and then for vice president
according to federal law. The votes will be canvassed by Ms. Vicki Balogh, our
state elections director, and the tally sheets and ballots will be kept in my
office as a public record.

After the canvass, the electors and myself will then sign six certificates of
the vote for president and vice president. Each of the certificates will be
sealed in an envelope along with a certificate of ascertainment furnished by the
governor that lists the electors. The electors will sign the sealed envelope
certifying the documents inside are authentic.

The law provides that six sets be sent to different locations. Our founding
fathers, living in an age of undependable transportation and communication,
wanted a number of backup options in case the original vote count failed to make
it to the nationâ€™s capitol.

One set is sent by registered mail to the President of the U.S. Senate, who
is Al Gore. This set will be opened on January 6 and counted along with the
ballots from other states to determine who will serve as president and vice
president.

Two sets will by kept in my office. Unless ordered to be delivered to the
U.S. Senate, one set will be preserved for one year. The other set will be
opened and kept as a public record for public inspection.

Two more sets will be sent to the Archivist of the United States and are
treated just as the ones in my office.

Interestingly enough, federal law requires us to mail the set sent to the
President of the Senate today while we are required to wait until tomorrow to
send the two sets to the Archivist.

A final set is given to the presiding federal judge of the Middle District of
Alabama, Judge Harold Albritton.

I see that the canvass is completed. Please pass me the official results.

Alabamaâ€™s electoral votes having been duly cast and canvassed are as follows.
. .(results are announced)

We will now proceed with the signing of the certificates of the vote.

We have completed the certificates of election, and it is now time for us to
conclude these proceedings.

The votes of the electors having been cast and canvassed and the
certifications of election having been issued, we stand adjourned.